SKUSA Pro Tour

If the first three races of the Superkarts! USA calendar are any indication, the leading karting organization in the country is primed for another banner year. A motivated 190 drivers invaded Buttonwillow Raceway during the first partially-rainy weekend of February to kick off the California ProKart Challenge, and then the Texas PKC fired up their first pure-SKUSA season with a solid opening round the weekend before the inaugural Pro Tour WinterNationals at NOLA. The California PKC crew was back at it this past weekend on the Streets of Willow with almost 170 entries, proving SKUSA’s success with scheduling races during the first weekend of each month. This consistent spacing now puts the focus on May 5-7, when the Pro Tour continues in Sonoma, California with the eighth annual SpringNationals.

SKUSA is returning to the site of the inaugural Pro Tour event that was held at the Simraceway Performance Karting Center in Sonoma in 2010. Held over a mid-April weekend seven years ago, a total of 98 entries took part in this first event, which ushered in a new era for the organization’s championship program. Over the next seven years, the SKUSA Pro Tour has developed into the leading national championship series in North America, with entries for this year’s SpringNationals projected to eclipse the 250-driver mark. Per Tom Kutscher, SKUSA CEO, “Talking to a number of team managers already, I wouldn’t be surprised if we hit 300 entries for this event, with multiple classes selling out at the 40-entry cap right away.”

Regarding hotels and accommodations, SKUSA has partnered with Choice Hotels to offer a corporate discount of 15% on standard room rates at over 6,300 hotels worldwide – including those located in Sonoma and surrounding areas – and this discount will be active all season. For those ready to book their hotel for Sonoma, you must book via the link below, or by calling the number listed and providing them SKUSA’s Corp ID. You cannot get this discount by calling any of the hotels directly.

A detailed event schedule, track layout, and other important event info will be posted to the Superkarts! USA website soon. SKUSA has confirmed that there will be an optional Thursday practice day offered on May 4th, along with Early Bird Registration check-in onsite Wednesday afternoon, May 3rd. Competitors can now make their travel arrangements accordingly.

The Superkarts! USA Pro Tour is coming off of the inaugural WinterNationals event, which was held on March 3-5 at the NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, Louisiana. Just over 220 entries took part in the event, which recently saw two exciting episodes broadcast on CBS Sports Network in late March in a prime Saturday night time slot, covering the racing action in the ‘Big Easy’. A number of noteworthy main events were contested, and Superkarts! USA continues to distribute motivating cash purses with each Pro Tour event.

A total of $7,000 in prize money was handed out following the two rounds of racing and verification of final weekend points. In the two headline divisions, $1,000 went to the championship leaders Jake French and Christian Brooks. French, the winner of the opening round, came out as the top points earner in the S1 Pro Stock Honda division. The rest of the $2,500 purse for S1 went to Billy Musgrave ($600), AJ Myers ($400), Mathias Ramirez ($300) and Round Two victor Hunter Pickett ($200). Brooks finished as the runner-up both days on track to leave NOLA as the point leader in the X30 Senior division, taking home the $1,000 payday for his consistent performances. Race winners Jake Craig and Zach Holden left second and third, with Brandon Jarsocrak and defending Pro Tour champion Ryan Norberg taking the remainder of the class purse.

Any other classes that eclipse the 30-entry mark at any of the 2017 SKUSA Pro Tour events are eligible to earn a $1000 purse to be distributed to the top-three weekend point earners. Mini Swift was the second largest division on the weekend, featuring 40 drivers. Both days, it was Luca Mars who stood on top of the podium, which put $500 in his pocket. Santiago Trisini earned $300 for second, and Reece Gold $200 for third. The X30 Junior category was just short of that 40-driver mark on the weekend, providing great racing both days. Dylan Tavella earned the most points over the two rounds to grab the first-place $500 check. Tyler Gonzalez and Aidan Keel completed the money podium.

The WinterNationals marked the debut of the new SKUSA video marshalling system. As part of the on-going effort by the organization to provide safe and fair competition, the video marshalling system was used throughout the weekend to provide evidence to support the calls made by the on-track officials. Of course, competitors have the option to file a protest to dispute a call made, and the video footage will assist in the final decisions. By the end of the weekend, Superkarts! USA had acquired $1,500 in protest fees. Tom Kutscher is proud to announce that for all of 2017, SKUSA is going to donate 100% of protest fees collected to Autism Speaks.

For more information on anything related to Superkarts! USA, please check this website and be sure to follow the Superkarts! USA Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram accounts – or call the SKUSA head office at 951-491-0808.